” by His Divine Grace A.C. BhaktivedantaSwami Prabhupada.Summary: Srimad-Bhagavatam is compared to the ripened fruit of Vedicknowledge. Also known as the Bhagavata Purana, this multi-volume workelaborates on the pastimes of Lord Krishna and His devotees, and includesdetailed descriptions of, among other phenomena, the process of creationand annihilation of the universe. His Divine Grace A.C. BhaktivedantaSwami Prabhupada considered the translation of the Bhagavatam his life’s work.COPYRIGHT NOTICE: This is an evaluation copy of the printed version ofthis book, and is NOT FOR RESALE. This evaluation copy is intended forpersonal non-commercial use only, under the “fair use” guidelinesestablished by international copyright laws. You may use this electronicfile to evaluate the printed version of this book, for your own privateuse, or for short excerpts used in academic works, research, studentpapers, presentations, and the like. You can distribute this evaluationcopy to others over the Internet, so long as you keep this copyrightinformation intact. You may not reproduce more than ten percent (10%) ofthis book in any media without the express written permission from thecopyright holders. Reference any excerpts in the following way:“Excerpted from “Srimad-Bhagavatam” by A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiPrabhupada, courtesy of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, www.Krishna.com .”This book and electronic file is Copyright 1972-2003 Bhaktivedanta BookTrust International, 3764 Watseka Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90034, USA. All rights reserved. For any questions, comments, correspondence, or toevaluate dozens of other books in this collection, visit the website ofthe publishers, www.Krishna.com .Canto 2: " The Cosmic Manifestation"Second CantoChapter OneThe First Step in God RealizationINVOCATIONTEXTom namo bhagavate vasudevayaSYNONYMSom--O my Lord; namah--my respectful obeisances unto You; bhagavate--unto the Personality of Godhead; vasudevaya--unto Lord Krsna, the son ofVasudeva.TRANSLATIONO my Lord, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer myrespectful obeisances unto You.

PURPORTVasudevaya means "to Krsna, the son of Vasudeva." Since by chantingthe name of Krsna, Vasudeva, one can achieve all the good results ofcharity, austerity and penances, it is to be understood that by thechanting of this mantra, om namo bhagavate vasudevaya, the author or thespeaker or any one of the readers of Srimad-Bhagavatam is offeringrespectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Krsna, the reservoir of allpleasure. In the First Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, the principles ofcreation are described, and thus the First Canto may be called"Creation."Similarly, in the Second Canto, the post-creation cosmic manifestationis described. The different planetary systems are described in the SecondCanto as different parts of the universal body of the Lord. For thisreason, the Second Canto may be called "The Cosmic Manifestation." Thereare ten chapters in the Second Canto, and in these ten chapters thepurpose of Srimad-Bhagavatam and the different symptoms of this purposeare narrated. The first chapter describes the glories of chanting, and ithints at the process by which the neophyte devotees may perform meditation on the universal form of the Lord. In the first verse,Sukadeva Gosvami replies to the questions of Maharaja Pariksit, who askedhim about one's duties at the point of death. Maharaja Pariksit was gladto receive Sukadeva Gosvami, and he was proud of being a descendant of Arjuna, the intimate friend of Krsna. personally, he was very humble and meek, but he expressed his gladness that Lord Krsna was very kind to hisgrandfathers, the sons of Pandu, especially his own grandfather, Arjuna. And because Lord Krsna was always pleased with Maharaja Pariksit'sfamily, at the verge of Maharaja Pariksit's death Sukadeva Gosvami wassent to help him in the process of self-realization. Maharaja Pariksit was a devotee of Lord Krsna from his childhood, so he had naturalaffection for Krsna. Sukadeva Gosvami could understand his devotion.Therefore, he welcomed the questions about the King's duty. Because theKing hinted that worship of Lord Krsna is the ultimate function of everyliving entity, Sukadeva Gosvami welcomed the suggestion and said,"Because you have raised questions about Krsna, your question is mostglorious." The translation of the first verse is as follows.TEXT 1TEXTsri-suka uvacavariyan esa te prasnahkrto loka-hitam nrpaatmavit-sammatah pumsam srotavyadisu yah parahSYNONYMSsri-sukah uvaca--Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; variyan--glorious; esah--this; te--your; prasnah--question; krtah--made by you; loka-hitam--beneficial for all men; nrpa--O King; atmavit--transcendentalist;sammatah--approved; pumsam--of all men; srotavya-adisu--in all kinds ofhearing; yah--what is; parah--the supreme.TRANSLATION

Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: My dear King, your question is gloriousbecause it is very beneficial to all kinds of people. The answer to thisquestion is the prime subject matter for hearing, and it is approved byall transcendentalists.PURPORTEven the very question is so nice that it is the best subject matterfor hearing. Simply by such questioning and hearing, one can achieve thehighest perfectional stage of life. Because Lord Krsna is the originalSupreme Person, any question about Him is original and perfect. Lord SriCaitanya Mahaprabhu said that the highest perfection of life is toachieve the transcendental loving service of Krsna. Because questions andanswers about Krsna elevate one to that transcendental position, thequestions of Maharaja Pariksit about Krsna philosophy are greatlyglorified. Maharaja Pariksit wanted to absorb his mind completely inKrsna, and such absorption can be effected simply by hearing about theuncommon activities of Krsna. For instance, in the Bhagavad-gita it isstated that simply by understanding the transcendental nature of LordKrsna's appearance, disappearance, and activities, one can immediatelyreturn home, back to Godhead, and never come back to this miserablecondition of material existence. It is very auspicious, therefore, tohear always about Krsna. So Maharaja Pariksit requested Sukadeva Gosvamito narrate the activities of Krsna so that he could engage his mind inKrsna. The activities of Krsna are nondifferent from Krsna Himself. Aslong as one is engaged in hearing such transcendental activities ofKrsna, he remains aloof from the conditional life of material existence.The topics of Lord Krsna are so auspicious that they purify the speaker,the hearer and the inquirer. They are compared to the Ganges waters, which flow from the toe of Lord Krsna. Wherever the Ganges waters go,they purify the land and the person who bathes in them. Similarly, krsna-katha, or the topics of Krsna, are so pure that wherever they are spoken,the place, the hearer, the inquirer, the speaker and all concerned becomepurified.TEXT 2TEXTsrotavyadini rajendranrnam santi sahasrasahapasyatam atma-tattvam grhesu grha-medhinam SYNONYMSsrotavya-adini--subject matters for hearing; rajendra--O Emperor;nrnam--of human society; santi--there are; sahasrasah--hundreds andthousands; apasyatam--of the blind; atma-tattvam--knowledge of self, theultimate truth; grhesu--at home; grha-medhinam--of persons too materiallyengrossed.TRANSLATIONThose persons who are materially engrossed, being blind to theknowledge of ultimate truth, have many subject matters for hearing inhuman society, O Emperor.